While you can’t believe everything you read (or watch) on the internet, there is some scientific merit to the idea that tart cherry juice is good for sleep. In a 2019 pilot study, for example, researchers found that participants who had been diagnosed with insomnia slept an average of 84 minutes longer when they drank tart cherry juice for two weeks1. However, participants drank a glass not once, but twice a day—in the morning when they woke up and between one to two hours before bed every night.
According to celebrity chef and longevity wellness expert, Serena Poon CN, CHC, CHN (who was not involved in the study), tart cherry juice may be appealing to those struggling to fall and stay asleep because it contains two natural sleep aids: Melatonin and tryptophan.
“Melatonin is a hormone (normally triggered by darkness) that is produced naturally in the body and adjusts your circadian rhythm accordingly,” Poon tells mindbodygreen over email. And we all know tryptophan as the amino acid in turkey that supposedly helps put us to sleep after every Thanksgiving meal.
